The 'Illegitimacy Bonus' and State Efforts To Reduce Out-of-Wedlock Births

The 'Illegitimacy Bonus' and State Efforts To Reduce Out-of-Wedlock Births

By Patricia Donovan
DOI: 10.1363/3109499
Out-of-wedlock births have increased dramatically in recent decades and now account for about one-third of U.S. births each year.1 Although most nonmarital births are to women who are not on welfare, Congress used the 1996 welfare reform law to mount a major nationwide campaign against "illegitimacy."
To motivate states to adopt policies and programs that discourage nonmarital childbearing, Congress included in the law a so-called illegitimacy bonus, which rewards states that reduce out-of-wedlock births among all women—not just welfare recipients or teenagers—and also decrease abortions. For four years, beginning in FY 1999, the federal government will award a total of up to $100 million annually to a maximum of five states that achieve the greatest declines in out-of-wedlock births and reduce their abortion rate to below its 1995 level. If five states qualify, each will receive $20 million; if fewer than five meet the requirements, each will receive $25 million.2